EASY PEASY PICKLES

What follows originated with a sisterly Christmas gift – a jar of homemade pickled radishes with carrots. They were DIVINE. The recipe was a text of a text of a text of a photo from a book or magazine. . . (don’t you love technology?). Baby Sis had changed the recipe and used Swerve instead of sugar. We changed it up by using watermelon radishes from Avalon and skipping the carrots.

Mom is in the kitchen making another batch today. We now know to expect the pretty pink of the watermelon radishes to change the brine, but the taste more than makes up for the aesthetics. No doubt this method can be used with other root vegetables so if you try something different before we do, let us know and we’ll share it with the rest of our Market family. (Ros)

1. Prepare 4 lb of radishes by peeling and slicing them, Slices a bit smaller than ¼ inch thickness work best.

2. Mix 4 tsp Swerve (or other erythritol product) with 2 tsp salt. Set Aside.

3. Mix 1 cup Swerve (or other erythritol product) with 2 cups warm water (to dissolve) and 2 ½ cups white vinegar. Set Aside.

4. Sprinkle sugar/salt mixture over prepared radishes. Massage it into the vegetables till they are pliable and bend easily. Rinse well and drain.

5. Pack vegetables in clean jars with lids. Pour liquid mixture over the radishes.

6. Seal Jars. Refrigerate overnight before using. The flavor improves over time and the pickles keep 4-6 weeks in the refrigerator.

GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

MAYIM FARM Mayim Farm will be taking a break this market cycle while attending the annual “Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference” (SSAWG) and the “2020 Organic Agriculture Research Forum”(OFRF) in Little Rock. Mayim Farm received a scholarship from the Organic Research Foundation to attend the conference and forum. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to participate in, and learn more about the latest regenerative and organic practices in 2020. We strive to grow the most nutrient dense food and medicine for our clients through these breakthrough practices. We’ll see you again in a couple weeks rested and with new ideas to implement.

AVALON FARMS Avalon Farms
We’ve seen the last of the Arugula and Spinach. This 2 weeks of warm weather has signaled them to produce flowers and eventually seeds. That is the plants goal to reproduce itself by producing seeds for next year. The Kales and Senposia are handling the weather better and are not flowering. 

The chickens have enjoyed the warmer weather and are laying like champs. Please buy more eggs!!! I’m swimming in them over here. : ) 

Greenhouse construction continues…hampered by Mr. Farmer’s off farm job and rain. (Seems to always rain when he’s home. I smell a conspiracy.) (Mr. Farmer, “The power of prayer.”)

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

D’s JELLIES

You all know Dianne Herring through the wonderful jellies she sells year round. What you may not know is that she and husband Phillip grow all the fruit and peppers that goes into her wonderful products. She was kind enough to share a bit of what’s happening on her farm. We hope you enjoy. (Ros)

“Our garden space has been covered with leaves from our pecan trees. My husband, Phillip, recently brought out the tiller and tilled the leaves into the soil to keep the soil loose. Late January or early February,  he will plant new potatoes. It is usually April when we plant our peppers that I use to make Hot Pepper Jelly. I have to wait until late July or early August for the peppers to turn red and then it’s time to start making jelly.                                                                           

Last spring, we had to replant a large portion of our blackberry bushes. They have grown quickly and the deer love to nibble on the new growth.  Before the new growth sprouts this spring, we will have to find a way to keep the deer away from our plants! There should be plenty of blackberries to gather and sell and to make my Blackberry Jelly.  Blackberries ripen and are gathered in late May and June.                                               

Our Mayhaw trees have had a few blooms recently due to the warm weather. I hope the cooler weather will keep the majority of the blooms from budding. Our Mayhaws are usually gathered in May. They look like a miniature red apple and are about the size of a cherry.  The color of the berries gives my Mayhaw Jelly it’s beautiful red color.                                                              
Our garden and fruit orchard at our country home south of Cottonwood keeps us busy but also provides the pleasure of watching it grow and gathering its bounty."         Dianne Herring 

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

PERDIDO VINEGARS

The backstory for what follows is an interrupted conversation about how Mrs. M uses flavored vinegars. This is one of those times when we ALL benefit and I can’t wait to try these ideas! (Ros)

“I wanted to follow up on our conversation about these vinegars. I have been using them for some time now and am in love with them.

One of my favorite light side dishes is cucumbers, tomatoes and onions in vinegar and oil. This time of year cucumbers aren’t readily available so I substituted them with bell peppers and used the cucumber vinegar with a splash of oil and salt and pepper. They are so tasty after about an hour in this mixture and the cucumber taste really comes thru.

One thing Mark and I enjoy doing is to grill, yes we’re hardcore and do it year round. Quite often we grill fruit as our dessert. I use oranges, grapefruit, pineapple and peaches as well as plums. I cut them I half and brush the cut side with olive oil before grilling to keep it from sticking and when it’s done I splash a flavored vinegar over it and serve with vanilla ice cream. My favorites that I’m using right now are the blueberry and Satsuma orange vinegars.

You should encourage the other Market at Dothan member to try these items cause I think they’re great. Plus, everyone who knows me knows that I don’t recommend products unless Im extremely satisfied. “

Melody

GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: What I Did On My Christmas Vacation…

With all the problems we’ve had producing transplants, building a greenhouse has been on our wishlist. Over Christmas, we finally started construction. The completed greenhouse will be 16 by 24 feet, more than enough space for our farm needs and a big corner space for my Dad to play with. Had to purchase new lumber but will be utilizing recycled windows and roofing tin from old chicken houses. Benches will be built out of reclaimed wood too.

Those son-in-laws with real construction training come in handy!

The plan is to be finished and start plants by the end of this month. Stay tuned for updates. 

HORTONS FARM We managed some progress during Christmas break on the fence/back yard/garden project, namely, DIRT! The dirt that’s been coming out of the back yard has been piled up in the garden to contribute to new raised beds. Mr. H has located affordable material and as soon as we deal with some design issues we’ll start rebuilding around the greenhouse and moving the perennials to new beds. The plan is to create permaculture hybrid beds using wood and organic matter from here on the farm and . . . dirt

What’s left of the original raised beds (1996) is visible on the right.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

SOME CRAZY STUFF!

With this newsletter starting the last order cycle of 2019 we’re getting a jump on the seasonal “year in review” stuff. Soon we’ll start seeing sports, medicine, entertainment, science, political, etc type programs about the significant events of 2019. Some will go down in history as trivia. Some will have impact for years to come. We thought we’d take a look at a couple of interesting events in US agriculture for 2019 that have impact.

The big story for 2019 is HEMP. The 2018 Farm Bill paved the way for legal hemp production in the United States. It was declassified as a Schedule 1 drug and deemed as an agriculture commodity. This legislation defines “hemp” as all parts of the plant containing less than 0.3% THC.  Farmers cannot grow hemp without federal or state approval and only under strict guidelines.

This is the second year Alabama has accepted applications for growing hemp and the number is expected to double as it is used more in manufacturing. Ag Commissioner Rick Pate said industrial hemp has a lot of uses. “It’s used in cars, plastics, it’s biodegradable. It would help with plastics getting out of the water” To become a hemp farmer potential growers in our state have to pay a $200 application fee and submit a background check. If approved a $1,000 location fee is required.

Another event highlights the continuing confusion over the definition of “waters of the United States” aka, WOTUS, under the Clean Water Act. An August 19, 2019 ruling found that the Obama administration’s 2015 “Clean Water Rule” is an “impermissible construction of the statutory language”, in other words, an overreach of federal authority. The Obama 2015 rule seized federal regulatory control over virtually all water, something Congress never authorized. The impact on farms and farmland was devastating.

“Continuing confusion” of this issue is an understatement. Many states including Alabama, Georgia and Florida weighed in on the Obama rule with lawsuits. The whole thing boiled down to a power struggle over federal and state control of water. It started back in 2006 because there was no original clear definition of exactly what constitutes “waters of the United States”. The result has been a struggle for control for the nations water ever since and despite the 2019 decision, is yet to be resolved.

GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

DANNY’S GREENS ARE BACK! There will be 10 salad greens and 6 onions available to order this week.

AVALON FARMS:
I tried to think of something clever and fun for this Christmas newsletter, but couldn’t think of a thing. So I’ll stick with the truth of the season…

God bless you one and all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From Avalon Farms

LAURA’S CONFECTIONS: I am very fortunate to have the constancy of your patronage since I joined the Market and offer my most sincere thanks for making this a most successful year. It has been a great pleasure to serve you the finest quality confections doing what I love best. I wish everyone peace and joy this Christmas season and a very Happy New Year filled with the realization of all your hopes and dreams.

D’S JELLIES Jellies are unique and delicious gifts for Christmas or any occasion. Whether it was Mother’s Day Open House, Market orders, or Christmas Open House, I sincerely Thank You for purchasing D’s Mayhaw Jelly, Hot Pepper Jelly, & BlackBerry Jelly. Merry Christmas!   Dianne Herring 

HORTONS FARM Progress continues on restoring infrastructure around here. This week my beloved garden shed (an 8×14 hoop house constructed by my mr. and sons) went on the trash heap. Plans are in the works for another plus expanding that garden into part of the back pasture. New fencing is completed on one side and part of another. During Christmas my old raised beds will be leveled and the perennial veggies (walking garlic, asparagus and horseradish) stored or moved. I’m pretty happy they have continued during their prolonged neglect.

On a different note, a RECIPE! We recently roasted one of Avalon’s Georgia Candy Roaster Squash. Talk about easy! I sliced it, removed the seeds and baked at 350 till tender. When cool, remove the peels, cube and warm in a skillet or saucepan with ¼ c maple syrup. 1 – 2 tbs butter, a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg and a handful of chopped nuts. Easy peasy and delicious!

Lastly, a Product Review. Mrs. Laura shared a slice of her Skyscraper Cake and . . . oh. my. word!!! This thing is heavenly! Don’t take my word for it. Rictor Farms and Eagle Grove Services got to share the love and can attest to the opinion!

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ENJOY WISELY!

The Christmas parties and get-togethers have started and with them comes all sorts of foods that seem to only come out time of the year. Some are decaant, some are sinful, and all are delicious. But NOT all are good for your overall habits, your diet or your health!

What follows are tips from a registered dietitian.

1. Bring on the vegetables.
It’s also tough to make half your plate vegetables if there are no actual vegetables being served at your holiday dinner. Consider bringing a dish of non-starchy veggies to the festivities.

2. And eat those vegetables…first.
Many people find it helpful to eat the vegetables FIRST. This means before you enjoy the roasted turkey, glazed ham, savory stuffing, and sweet potato pie, have a serving of the vegetable dish you brought to the party. Why? This makes sure that you actually eat the vegetables (before getting full). And because vegetables tend to be high in nutrients and fiber—a winning combination for overall health.

3. Definitely savor each bite.
It’s important to eat slowly and wait before going for seconds because it takes 20+ minutes for your brain to get the signal that you’re actually full. If you love food it’s super easy to get excited when you first set sights on any holiday feast. Remember to pace yourself. By savoring every delicious bite, you’re more likely to take your time and stop when you’ve had enough.

4. Ask yourself “Am I still enjoying this?”
Whenever you are not sure if you are overeating, one question to ask at different points throughout the meals is, “Am I still enjoying this?” If the answer is yes, then consider continuing to eat. If the answer is no, you also have the option to take a break and then reevaluate the need for more later. If not sure, you can set a timer for 30 minutes and then see if you’re up for more when the timer goes off.

5. And do not skip meals.
Again, this is a popular strategy for holiday eating. Skipping breakfast and lunch to “save” all of your calories for dinner typically leads to overeating. Instead, have a balanced breakfast and enjoy a satisfying lunch the day of the event.

6. Eat what you love.
Most of us find it extremely easy to eat something just because it’s there. Try to be picky at your holiday dinner. Focus on only eating the foods you absolutely love, and skip the foods you are “meh” about. Also, don’t eat something just because it’s a holiday food—if eggnog doesn’t excite you, skip it.

7. Try alternating between water and alcohol.
If you’re going to drink, try to alternate between water and alcohol to minimize intake and stay hydrated. You can also seriously slash your alcohol calories by using seltzer water as a mixer for hard liquor.

8. And resist the urge to fall into a food coma.
How do you do this? Get your walk on. That’s right, walking is one of the healthiest habits you can have during the holidays, especially after a big meal. There are a bunch of studies that say taking a brisk 15- to 20-minute walk after a meal can help ease digestion and stabilize blood sugar levels.

9. Make physical activity a thing the day of.
In addition to walking, consider incorporating winter physical activities into your holiday festivities. Sledding and ice skating two ways to stay active that the whole fam can enjoy. For those of you the cooler states, shoveling snow can be another great way to get those muscles working.

10. Enjoy dessert, and be mindful while doing it.
There will likely be endless assortments of cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream at your holiday meal. If you can, have some. Enjoy it. If you want to taste every dessert in attendance, consider having a small sampling of each.

11. And finally, lose the guilt.
I know that healthy holiday eating can make people anxious, but try not to get too worked up. This should be a time of celebration and also relaxation. If you do happen to eat more than you planned during this holiday season, don’t beat yourself up. More importantly, don’t let a slip become a fall. If you do go overboard, don’t get stuck in a food rut. Try to get back to your healthy eating habits as soon as you possibly can.

GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

LAURA’S CONFECTIONS: would like to thank all my customers for their continued support and faith in me to provide you the very best in bakery items. Christmas will be upon us in the blink of an eye and if you desire anything special for the holiday you may order off the menu. The final day for placing holiday orders is Tuesday, December 17. IT IS IMPERATIVE YOU INDICATE THE ITEM IS FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY IN THE COMMENT SECTION. All items must be pre-paid and pickup is scheduled for Monday, December 23rd between 3:00 P.M and 4:00 P.M.

AVALON FARMS:

It was great seeing all your smiling faces at the Christmas open house Thursday night.

As you can see from the table display the watermelon radishes are sizing up nicely and we have a few carrots available.

All the winter squash will be available in the market this week. Will also be adding a few bunches of kale, arugala, senposai and of course, plenty of turnips will be available.

DANNY’S GREENS: Danny is taking a week off to give the lettuces time to catch up. They will be available again on Dec. 14.

HORTONS FARM

Saturday’s view from the back porch.

Things are progressing to restore fences, the “little garden” outbuildings (and sanity) on the farm. This next week promises to be labor intensive so we are suspending product orders till December 14. If you have anything special you want that week please drop us an email so we can make sure it’s available.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

THURSDAY PICKUP THIS WEEK

Christmas Open House is an annual event that takes place the first Thursday of every year at Dothan Nurseries. It’s a fun and festive time with food, drink, music, specials and lots of extra vendors with great goodies for your holiday shopping. Many of our Market vendors will be on hand as well as Market friends, all with plenty of goods to help make your Holiday Season LOCAL, FRESH, & SUSTAINABLE.

And maybe a few surprises . . . . !

A few particulars for our regular Market customers. PICKUP will take place before and during Open House. Ros will be in the Market Shed as usual with your weekly orders. There will be no Daleville or Enterprise pickup this week.

THIS AND THAT

I trust each of you are rejoicing in this glorious day after the dreary weather we’ve experienced this week. And I hope and pray each of you are counting your blessings as we are deep into the Thanksgiving Season this year. This past week I found myself thankful for Elderberry Syrup and Chickweed Tea. Diligent use of Market natural remedies kept your newsletter editor from having to see a physician!

So this is our LAST order cycle before Thanksgiving. We here at the Market are thankful there are plenty of good healthy greens and root vegetables available. And if you’re ok with traditional sweets this is the last week Mrs. Laura’s pre-ordered pies can be ordered. If you’ve missed it she will deliver fresh pies to the Nursery for pickup the day before Thanksgiving.

New & Relisted Products – Woo-Hoo!

• Turnips from Avalon Farms
• Watermelon Radishes from Avalon Farms
• Mini Carrot and German Chocolate Cake from Laura’s Confections
• GEORGIA CANDY ROASTERS and other Winter Squash from Avalon Farms
• Peppermint Bark Lotion from Bella Eden Farms
• Mocha Cream Toffee Torte from Laura’s Confections
• Christmas Soaps from Bella Eden Farms

Year End Calendar

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

THIS LITTLE PIGGIE MISSED THE MARKET

Coming home from a Saturday Farmer’s Market is always a goofy mix of exhilaration, fatigue, contemplation and (for me) digging in to get the newsletter done. Today has been no different! I thought I’d share a bit of the day with you.

7:30 am Leave home for Dothan Nurseries, coffee and cold pizza in hand for breakfast on the way.

8:00 am Arrive at Nursery. The gate is still locked. A couple of other vendors park beside and behind me to await the arrival of someone with keys.

8:05 am A sweet lady arrived and unlocked the gate. We wait for her to disable the alarm system so the police don’t come running as we enter.

8:07 am Three of us are parked and starting to unload. It’s COLD outside.

8:15 am More vendors arrive. Everybody is helping each other park, put up tents, etc. The spirit of cooperation is a thing of beauty.

8:30 am EVERYBODY has arrived. The parking lot is a mess with people unloading, setting up and moving vehicles.

9:15 am ALL DONE! Vendor vehicles are replaced with customer vehicles in the parking lot. Folks start visiting booths. Old friends visit, new friends chat, Ms. Laura shares baked goods with the vendors and everyone has a good time selling and sharing.

12:30 pm. Foot traffic has slowed down, it’s time to start packing up. The process that happened earlier reverses itself as tents and tables disappear almost as fast as they earlier appeared.

1:00 pm You can’t tell we were ever there!

1:05 pm Stop at Piggly Wiggly for Chicken Feed

1:25 pm Go through McDonalds drive through for $1 coffee because I need the caffine for the drive home.

1: 55 pm Had to stop and tell this guy to get out of the road. He thought I wanted to chat and grunted at me a while before going up his driveway. It didn’t look like anyone was home so I’m hopeful he stayed put till his human arrived.

We hope you enjoyed this peek into one of our crazy fun Market Days and will plan to join us on the next one Dec. 5!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

NEXT SATURDAY, NOV. 9!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

BEEKEEPER NUTRITION

Beekeepers are always fighting for our bees’ best nutrition but do beekeepers have the same mentality about their nutrition as they do about their bees’?

Many beekeepers are meticulous about the economy of the hive and monitor everything they possibly can. They feed the bees, remove drone cells, manage and monitor diseases and pests of the hive. We advocate against pesticide use and monoculture so that our bees have the right kind of food. 

Most beekeepers are enthusiastic about their honey. It is often proclaimed that honey is raw, unprocessed and untouched by food processing. More common white sugar does not possess these qualities: it is heated and bleached, leeching the helpful products from the raw cane. On the other hand,  raw honey only undergoes centrifuging and maybe straining, which leave the natural benefits intact. Beekeepers are also passionate about the preparation of the honey itself. While commerizalied producers often degrade the honey through ultrafiltration, removing all the helpful byproducts, local beekeepers focus on characteristics like pollen content and water percentages, which determine if we consider it a good product. However, this passion and desire for integrity in honey often does not translate to other food or products besides honey.  

Keep in mind that most of the processed food we eat is maintained by monocultures, which disrupt the balance in the ecosystem. Monoculture produces food deserts, poor soil quality, and negatively affects insects, especially bees, who like a variety of nectar and pollen all year.  Monoculture and mass production of food are clearly bad for bees, but they are necessary to maintain the culture of processed food.    

Food processing for manufacturing can simply be thought of as altering a food, through the use of various chemicals and preservatives for mass transport and long shelf life. There are three types of food processing. Primary processing includes slaughtering meat, harvesting oats, and picking apples and produces whole foods that are safe to eat.  Secondary processing is cooking, freezing, or canning. We can think of secondary processing as “simple processing”; it can be performed without access to an industrial kitchen. The third stage involves adding foreign colors, flavors, and preservatives that are not native to the natural food. The third stage produces ultra-processed food. It is pretty easy to come up with examples for each stage: a banana is a whole raw food; canned beans are a “simply processed” food; and a candy bar is an ultra-processed food.

Consuming food in each stage of processing also has a different caloric effect, or effect on energy. Let’s say for instance, you ate a raw sweet potato. You would consume 115 calories. This time you bake it, “simply processing” it and consuming 180 calories. Instead, you drive to your grocery store and pick up some frozen sweet potato fries, which are ultra-processed, and consume about 400 calories. The advent of ultra-processed foods are directly linked with higher obesity rates, as you can see from this example. If you’re eating more calories, you’re going to gain more weight.

Let’s strive to not only to be good caretakers of bees, but of ourselves.  Nutrition is one of the most important parts of keeping a healthy hive. We should strive to commit to being as healthy as we want our bees to be.  We can eat less ultra-processed foods, and instead try to eat raw or simply processed foods. We can support local farmers who practice ethical farming strategies, including limiting insecticides. If any industry knows the benefits of raw foods, it’s ours. 

Christina Snoddy
Alabama Master Beekeeper Candidate

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!